ANC SG Fikile Mbalula has conceded that the party has much work to do in the province on KZN to regain voter confidence
Image: Fikile Mbalula/X
African National Congress (ANC) secretary general Fikile Mbalula has admitted that the party has lost its majority in KwaZulu-Natal to former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party and other parties, but says the ANC is working on a comeback.
Mbalula was speaking during a visit to KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday, where he said the party is aware of its declining support in the province.
He said the ANC is implementing a program of renewal and rebuilding through its Provincial Task Team (PTT), which was appointed in February 2025.
“We have lost, and we did not camouflage that loss in KwaZulu-Natal,” Mbalula said.
“We are a 17% party, and we need to get out of that. We've been working on a program of renewal and a comeback in KZN.”
He emphasised that while the ANC had lost ground, it is making progress.
“Is it working so far? It is. There are sparkles of good work that have been done, and I’m not being over-defensive and saying everything is hunky-dory. We have lost important wards in KZN.," he said.
Mbalula acknowledged the party has lost key wards to both the Umkhonto Wesizwe (MK) Party and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), including defections from ANC members who crossed over to rival parties.
"We have lost important wards to the Zuma party and had some members who left and joined the opposition. But equally, the ANC has made strides in areas that did not belong to the ANC before. We have also retained some wards," he said.
The visit forms part of the ANC National Executive Committee’s (NEC) broader strategy to regain lost ground and restore unity, credibility, and trust in the movement ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
“We are here as the Secretary-General’s office to do what we said we would, to monitor and work with the province to improve the standing of the ANC and sharpen the machinery of the African National Congress,” he said.
In February, the IFP won Ward 15 in the Mhlabuyalinga Local Municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
The IFP secured just over 1,300 votes, compared to 834 for the ANC and 531 for the MK Party. The seat became vacant after the death of ANC councillor Gidla Mthethwa.
More recently, the MK Party continued its surge, capturing Ward 18 in Mandeni on the province’s north coast in a by-election.
Zuma’s party won the ward with 813 votes, ahead of the ANC’s 533.
The MK Party has since taken several other wards from the ANC in by-elections across KwaZulu-Natal, including Ward 110 in the eThekwini Metro, previously held by the Democratic Alliance (DA).
Voting in Ward 18 was marred by allegations of vote rigging after an Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) official allegedly took a scanner to a private home under the pretext of charging it.
The official has since been suspended pending an investigation.
However, Mbalula insisted the ANC remains focused on internal restructuring and leadership renewal.
“We are not here to blame anyone. We are looking into our own house,” he said.
“We’ve reconfigured our leadership and are reinforcing our structures to build a disciplined and effective organisation.”
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